Neurotransmitters Flashcards

1
Q

name the parts of the neuron

A

dendrites, soma, axon, synaptic terminal

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2
Q

why does a dendrite have spines?

A

increase surface area

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3
Q

what happens in the dendrites?

A

information reception

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4
Q

what happens in the soma?

A

integration of signals

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5
Q

what happens in the axon?

A

rapid information transfer (action potential)

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6
Q

how many ms does an action potential take to pass through one neuron to the next?

A

2

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7
Q

how big is the synapse?

A

20-100nm

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8
Q

which type of impulse does the dendrite usually receive?

A

excitatory

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9
Q

which type of impulse does the soma usually receive?

A

inhibitory

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10
Q

what happens in the presynaptic terminal?

A

biosynthesis, packaging and release of the neurotransmitter

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11
Q

what happens when the neurotransmitter binds to the receptor?

A

activation

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12
Q

what happens after receptor activation?

A

inactivation

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13
Q

what are the three main types of neurotransmitter?

A

amino acids, amines and neuropeptides

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14
Q

give an example of an amino acid neurotransmitter

A

glutamate, gamma amino butyric acid, glycine

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15
Q

give an example of an amine neurotransmitter

A

noradrenaline, dopamine

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16
Q

give an example of a neuropeptide neurotransmitter

A

opioid peptides

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17
Q

Is glutamate excitatory or inhibitory?

A

excitatory

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18
Q

Is GABA excitatory or inhibitory?

A

inhibitory

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19
Q

where is glycine important as a neurotransmitter?

A

spinal cord

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20
Q

where is noradrenaline an important neurotransmitter?

A

sympathetic nervous system

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21
Q

does the parasympathetic nervous system slow or increase heart rate?

A

slows

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22
Q

does the sympathetic nervous system slow or increase heart rate?

A

increases

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23
Q

what is the variance of concentration of neurotransmitters in the CNS

A

nM to mM

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24
Q

What is the range of speed of responses a neurotransmitter can produce?

A

microseconds to milliseconds (rapid) or seconds (slow)

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25
Q

what does the action potential cause at the presynaptic terminal?

A

voltage gated calcium channels open, calcium influx into cell causing synaptic vesicle exocytosis

26
Q

what happens when an excitatory neurotransmitter binds to a receptor on the post synaptic membrane?

A

Na+ flows into cell, causing depolarisation and transmission of an action potential

27
Q

what happens when a reuptake protein on the presynaptic membrane takes in a neurotransmitter?

A

reloaded into vesicles

28
Q

what happens after the neurotransmitter is removed from the cleft?

A

sodium potassium pumps return membrane potential to resting

29
Q

what size increase in intracellular calcium concentration does transmitter release require?

A

less than 1micromolar to 200 micromolar

30
Q

how many molecules of transmitter in each pre-synaptic vesicle?

A

4,000-10,000

31
Q

how fast is influx of Ca2+ ions

A

ms down to 200microseconds

32
Q

what happens during the process of electromechanical transduction?

A

membrane depolarisation, Ca2+ channels open, Ca2+ influx, vesicle fusion, vesicle exocytosis, transmitter release

33
Q

how do the neurotransmitters get into the vesicles?

A

protein pumps

34
Q

what allows the docking of vesicles?

A

vesicle proteins

35
Q

what does alpha latrotoxin do and where is it found?

A

stimulates transmitter release to depletion and produced by black widow spider

36
Q

what do zinc dependent endopeptidases do and give two examples and what they cause

A

inhibit transmitter release, tetanus toxin - causes paralysis,
botulinum toxin C causes flaccid paralysis

37
Q

Is vesicle docking and exocytosis an active or passive process and what does it require?

A

active, ATP

38
Q

How are vesicles replenished?

A

vesicle recycling - protein pumps fill them up

39
Q

what are the two main classes of neurotransmitter receptor? Relative speed of responses?

A

ion channel receptor - fast, g-protein coupled receptor -slow

40
Q

what are the main effectors of the G protein coupled receptor?

A

enzymes or channels

41
Q

glutamate and gamma amino butyric acid use which kind of receptor in the CNS?

A

ion channel

42
Q

ACh at the neuromuscular junction binding nicotinic receptors uses which kind of receptor?

A

ion channel

43
Q

G-protein coupled receptor is used for which neurotransmitters and where?

A

In the CNS and peripheral nervous system,

ACh at muscarinic receptors in heart tissue, dopamine, noradrenaline, serotonin and neuropeptides

44
Q

what is the advantage of multiple subunit combinations (5 types of subunit) in an ion channel?

A

distinct functional properties

45
Q

Depolarisation or hyperpolarisation?
Glutamate
GABA
Glycine

A

Depolarisation (Na+)
Hyperpolarisation (Cl-)
Hyperpolarisation (Cl-)

46
Q

What are the two main types of glutamate receptors?

A

AMPA and NMDA

47
Q

AMPA receptors are what kind?

A

rapid excitatory

48
Q

NMDA receptors are what kind?

A

slow component of excitatory transmission

49
Q

Which ion(s) do AMPA receptors allow influx of and what is the rate of onset, offset and desensitisation?

A

Na+, rapid

50
Q

Which ion(s) do NMDA receptors allow influx of? What is their role in the body?

A

Ca2+ and Na+

Serve as coincidence receptors which underly learning mechanisms

51
Q

what is a coincidence receptor?

A

It relies on pre-depolarisation of the post-synaptic membrane to work

52
Q

how is glutamate reuptaken?

A

into pre-synaptic bulb and into glial cells

53
Q

how is glutamate modified in the glial cells?

A

glutamine synthetase modifies glutamate to glutamine

54
Q

what happens if there is excess glutamate in the brain?

A

GABA neurons are stimulated

55
Q

What happens if excess glutamate levels are not decreased or GABA is not released?

A

abnormal cell firing leading to seizures

56
Q

as the glutamate level comes down, what happens to glutamine levels?

A

they increase slowly as glutamate is broken down

57
Q

how many people worldwide are affected by epilepsy?

A

50 million

58
Q

how many epilepsy seizures are refractory to treatment?

A

25-30%

59
Q

How is GABA formed?

A

decarboxylation of glutamate by glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD)

60
Q

which enzyme in the glial cells breaks down GABA?

A

GABA transaminase

61
Q

How many subunits make up a GABA a receptor?

A

5

62
Q

which 4 types of drugs facilitate GABA transmission?

A

antiepileptic
anxiolytic
sedative
muscle relaxant